


A tale of Winter

by Glowing_dimp_as_an_ember



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Greek Gods AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-01
Updated: 2016-12-01
Packaged: 2018-09-03 16:18:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8720452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Glowing_dimp_as_an_ember/pseuds/Glowing_dimp_as_an_ember
Summary: For them, snow meant a new beginning





	

**Author's Note:**

> Someone gave me this idea a while back so...here it is :) [Hopefully it didn't suck that much]

There are always those kind of stories, the tales of heroes and villains in constant battles where more than just the evident is at stake, with the innocent victims almost joyful and carefree in both, spirit and personality, along with the brooding master mind painted with dark colors that can only strike fear in the souls of the living.

Then there are those, with storylines not so different yet not so similar either, whose age has become impossible to calculate since they have been told generation after generation nonstop, each one of them showing their own telling of it like a proud banner that held more meaning than strangers to it could possibly imagine, tales written and rewritten constantly, over and over again, whose details have been slowly worn off, the lines of their limits now blurred beyond repair every time one even dares to think about it since in most of the occasions memory deserves as much trust as a thief in the night.

This one in particular is one of them, a story that has been twisted since the beginning of time around campfires to nurse children to sleep, a tale of love that brought a lot of complications since the very first beginning, one that had traveled across the globe without a care in the world, on that you might recall as a whisper in the night: the tale of the appearance of seasons, the start of the winter.

It had all began during a sunny day, early in spring, the soft chorus of graceful birds crawling through the air, sweet nightingales adorning the sky free of gray clouds with colorful feathers of all shades and shapes, creating a moving rainbow that seemed to follow anyone who were to step under its shadow, and, underneath of the marvelous painting the nature seemed to make out of pure joy, there laid a beautiful forest full of light that certainly made contrast with the figure of dark robes that was currently making its way across the green fields, which seemed to waver in cold without a second thought in mind, threatening to wilt until they were all nothing but mere shadows of what they all once were, an empty shell void of any hint of life whatsoever.

The young looking man payed the soft whimpers of the flowers no mind as his black cape passed through them all, surrounding them with layers of eternal darkness before quickly vanishing as if it had just been a thin surface made of nothing but ghostly smoke, reappearing again no more than a couple of seconds after it had gone missing, apparently ready to hit another being with a wave of cruel frozen air.

He passed a hand along his black hair, gracefully moving some locks off his face, bringing down some fallen feathers that had been comfortable on his head, left there by some careless creature because of the mischievous acts of the howling wind around him, part so common to see on cheerful birds that had simply shrunk in between his fingers as soon as the skin of his palm had touched it. That was part of the reason for why he disliked stepping into the Overworld, it remind him of how he didn’t fit it, of how he was better off without any of the living creatures around that would only die at his feet as soon as the brown eyed was near enough for them to feel the aura of destruction that always accompanied his imposing presence.

If Nico would have been able to avoid going to the meeting that was taking place on Mount Olympus, he definitely would have chosen to not go, he knew when and where he wasn’t exactly wanted anyway, but the other deities had wanted to talk about how all the realms were doing at the time and, him being the Lord of the Land of the dead, meant his presence was more than needed. He was certain the so called reunion was nothing but a plot for the others to observe his movements, he knew the rest of the gods didn’t trust him at the same level they all trusted each other, he was the odd one after all, the gloomy one who had the world of the already deceased as his domain.

Always the odd one out, the unreliable one than more than just an individual being would think more than twice before trusting. Unpredictable. Lonely. Cunning to an extend that the world around him didn’t matter, taking and taking away from both sinners and saints without any kind of consideration whatsoever.

He let his glance wander around the environment he was in, boredom present on his brown eyes, which more likely held more life than his actual body, one that only indicators that showed he wasn’t completely dead on the inside. The scene surrounding him was not something he hadn’t seen before, watching the life running away from his own person should be a scenario he had gotten used so long ago, one would think that were to be the case at least from their certain point of view…but they were wrong, there was no way to do so, the black haired would know considering all the endless centuries he had spent trying, avoiding considering how life would have turned out if the fates hadn’t been after him since the very first beginning, always favoring his other relatives in a way he could only dream for himself.

So now there was him, his dark robes waving calmly due to the soothing action of the wind, the iron armor his cape of shadows hid from time to time shining with a shade of red as thick as blood, heading to what would be the most annoying hours of the decade. Nico absently played with the silvery skull ring that had found its perpetual home on one of the fingers of his right hand, sometimes he just enjoyed the feeling of comfort that its surface seemed to bring him whenever the hurricane of wild thoughts that was constantly haunting his mind became too dark, not that the effect was completely unexpected, the original owner had had a major impact on the black haired male. He reserved a special place in his heart for her, no one could ever replace the sweet and caring girl with stars on her eyes, that kind being that shared very reassembling features with his own self. Because that would give enough clue of how his sister was irreplaceable.

He would have to admit, he had been distracted, so lost on the echoes that bounced against the walls of his head that he had lost his grip on reality, the one that he considered particularly hard to hold on in the first place. Maybe if he had been focused enough on the world around him, he would have found it strange that there was a young, delicate vine colored with green leaves slowly making its way towards him, not wilting in the slightest, remaining youthful and beautiful even when it made contact with his ice cold skin.

It was unexpected, to feel the unperturbable life force of the newborn plant, stubbornly holding onto the right to live in a way he hadn’t seen ever before from a minor form of intelligence. A lot of things happened later that he wasn’t entirely prepared for, happenings he wasn’t ready for, in particular considering how fast everything occurred. It only took a couple of seconds for the grassy plant to seem to fully grow, small flowers starting to decorate the length of its body, showing off the potential it held on the inside, its graceful tactics.

Watching the flowers bloom was a spectacle on its own, if he were to be honest, the way the petals opened slowly to reveal an interior with more colorful brightness than the outside was something he really couldn’t put into words. Maybe that was because of how rare it was for him to see something like that, even when in a respectable distance, seeing it all from that close…was not what he would consider usual.

And so there he stood for what appeared to be hours, maybe years even, he wasn’t entirely sure, when time does not affect you in a way mortals would think of normal, the concept itself was bound to simply lose its meaning. His brown eyes focused its attention on the delicate, fragile looking sprouts, his glance analyzing every single one of the movements of the young living beings with dedication, a little side smile slowly appearing on his pale expression as some of them seemed to let out silent yawns, letting the center and core to be seen by the outside world, which they greeted with a fine powdery substance that quickly invaded the air around him, sneakily making its way to his nostrils until he couldn’t caught on any other smell but the sweet fragrance of spring.

The rest was pretty much a blur, he stopped registering everything whatsoever, the brightness of the sun slowly became dull, the green color of the forest became a grayish shade, everything started to become more and more meaningless. The lack of importance was not overwhelming though, he couldn’t care less, not when the soft cloud of pollen nursed him to sleep, something he hadn’t wanted to do so badly since so long ago that he found it impossible not to give in, the soft lullaby was calming in so many levels that he found himself unable not to obey to its wishes.

He welcomed darkness with open arms.

            ***                                                                                                                  ***

One of the first things his senses could register once his mind came back to reality was the way the brilliant sunlight above his head seemed to want to see him melt under the unbearable heat, warmth sensation that was anything but welcoming in his opinion. What time was it? He couldn’t be completely sure, but with how he felt the rays of the annoying yellow star meeting his form, he could bet it wasn’t so long pass midday, one of the worst hours of the entire day if you were to ask him. It wasn’t that he had anything personal against the sun… Scratch that, he actually kind of did, the story might have occurred particularly long ago in the eyes of the mortals but he wasn’t particularly good at letting grudges go, it had been like way since he could recall and he was certain it would continue to be that way.

The second thing he noticed was the jolt of pain that made its way through his spine, staying for a couple of seconds on the back of his neck before dissipating…only for the entire process to begin all over again, the sensation on nape becoming more unbearable with every succession of happenings, getting to the point that the pressure the nerves of that area felt became almost permanent, a ghostly sensation always making an appearance no matter how much he would mutter under his breath with the objective to scare it away, clearly in vain. That was not all though, he could swear that he could feel as if something was creeping slowly along his back, like a snake inspecting a foreign territory for the very first time, carefully calculating its every move just in case something was not as it appeared to be in the first place.

The next thing he realized was the fact that something was squeezing both of his wrists, which felt numbed to some extent, probably due to their lack of activity and movement. The black haired blinked a couple of times, waiting for a couple of seconds for the messy fog that had settled before his eyes to go and find someone else to bother, wishing to have a more clear idea of what exactly was going on around him. Part of him felt as if he was floating, at least the sensation he was perceiving from his arms told him that, both of his upper limbs felt as if they were hanging, like a puppet hanging from tight threads that would remain unused until another being were to loosen them up, freeing the unmoving creature.

Nico wasn’t entirely sure what was he expecting to meet once he were to be fully awake and aware of his surroundings, but he was pretty certain about one thing: seeing the soft features of a carefree looking blond, whose bright locks were adorned by beautiful flowers of different colors that seemed to form a crown when combined with the elegantly curved sticks that resembled newborn trees, only a couple of delicate leaves visible, was not something he was prepared for. He had been thinking about a possible encounter with a monster, a vile creature that belonged in the depths of Tartarus, not a freckled face only a few feet away from his own position looking at him with something possibly close to curiosity from what he could tell.

Despite their proximity, the other being didn’t appear to have noticed his state of consciousness, his glance shifting between the brown eyed and the small birds that seemed attracted to the other almost as a reflect. It was kind of a nice scene to see, if the black haired had to be honest, it gave away an aura of peace and tranquility he hadn’t been truly able to experiment on his own in a rather long time, he actually didn’t recall if there had been a time when he had been able to do so to begin with. Part of him felt bad of ruining the environment, that part of him, however, was repressed by his common sense when his sight caught on the creepers that were holding him down, forcefully gripping various parts of his arms, lifting them slightly on his sides but not in an unnatural way, just as if they were trying to help him out by lessening the effort his muscles were bound to make. He still didn’t like the situation though, which is why he decided to call for the other, whose blue eyes were now focused on another creature of the woodland that he couldn’t really distinguish.

“Wh-Where… Where am I?” He started speaking, his voice hoarse due to its lack of use, almost refusing to let his words be heard whatsoever, which seemed to be the case as the being in front of him didn’t even seem to stir when sounds started to come out of his mouth, clearly a change from his usual routine, in which every syllable that was pronounced by him caused fear and showed authority. “What happened?”

“Oh, so you are finally awake!” The blond said, a grin present on his features as he stepped closer to him, small flower buds starting to appear, blooming shortly after, on the crown placed on his head. “I wasn’t entirely sure how would the pollen affect you but it seems like not so differently than anyone else after all.”

The black haired narrowed his eyes at that, his mind trying to register all the implications that the statement the other had just said would bring as companions, a sudden wave of anger making its way through his nerves, traveling to every inch of his body, strong emotion that was quickly followed by evident confusion, his question having not been answered in any moment during the blond’s intervention.

Nico let his glance wander around the area, which was honestly not so different from the zone he had been on before, at least not if one where to look at the environment in a superficial level, both scenarios could actually be distinguished from the other if the focus were to be on the small, little but actually incredibly important details. Yes, the two shared trees and green grass, but there was something about the ground he was stepping on that was not the same.

To begin with, the plants around him didn’t wilt at all, he could feel how uncomfortable they all were, but their life worse was not weak or anything near that, quite the opposite, the aura around them was particularly strong, as if they all had been blessed with strength beyond the unimaginable for the mortal brain. Besides, the variety of living beings around him had shifted in not so subtle ways, now not only gorgeous orchids along with sunflowers could be spotted but also weird luminous plants had made an appearance, accompanied by multi-colored mushrooms of all weird shapes. It was all a particular mix of dangerous beauty and naïve horror, the breaking point between the pleasant and unpleasant, though the fact that the sun kept shining brightly made the place look like a hidden paradise.

“Do you like my garden?” He heard the blond say, the sound slowly getting closer to his position, his eyes meeting a pair of starry blue irises that were fixing their full attention on his figure as soon as he looked up. The black haired was certain he had seen those before, that he had been on the receiving edge of that warm glance, but he couldn’t quite place when or where yet; he knew the answer, he was sure of that, although it didn’t want to make itself visible. The other being decided to take his silence as an invitation to continue. “The eldest one of these precious is at least one hundreds of years old.”

Nico’s stare quickly wandered around again, finally stopping on the face of the cheerful being, analyzing his features with extreme care, not wanting to miss even the smallest of details that were being displayed. It didn’t take long for all the puzzle pieces to click together in his mind, allowing him to finally put a label, a name to the blue eyed in front of him. He had seen him before, in a couple of meetings in which the air had been invaded by a soft fragrance one would immediately relate with summer mornings and spring evenings, a woman of younger appearance always protectively by his side, caring for him as if he was a delicate flower that could get crushed at any moment. He ruled over spring, he was the son of summer.

“What am I doing here?” The black haired broke the silence that had fallen upon the environment like a vail, his voice having recovered its volume to some extent, making his question hearable above the faint singing of the birds flying nearby.

“I wanted us to talk.” The other, Will, he mentally told himself, said with a bright grin that could have rival the very stars of the sky, calmly, as if it was not unusual for him to pull things like that.

He focused his brown eyes on the blond, narrowing them to show the waves of discomfort that were crawling through his body. What kind of answer was that anyway?

“Let me go.” Nico spit, anger more than evident on his voice. Usually, when anyone was to hear him talk, they would shiver in fear, all of their previous thoughts leaving their minds only for nightmarish visions to take their place; with the other, it was different, instead of looking scared or just generally intimidated, he only appeared confused.

“Weren’t you listening to what I was saying? I want to talk to you.” The blue eyed stated, an eyebrow slightly raised, faint wrinkles making an appearance above his eyes, on one side of his freckled forehead.

“Well, you can always do that without the restrains.” Nico rolled his eyes, not bothering to mask how annoyingly infuriating he found the whole situation.

The blond in front of him simply shrugged, avoiding acknowledging how some grass seemed to shiver under the black haired’s feet. “You could always escape, go away in the middle of it all or just as soon as I let my guard down.”

He couldn’t deny that Will had a, pretty valid, point, he would have to admit, even if it was at expense of his own sense of privacy and safety, that his actions had been driven by, not only a sort of common sense, wisdom and wittiness. He had apparently gone through the tiny details more than once.

The brown eyed sighed in defeat, if the one in front of him was as stubborn as he looked…he doubted that arguing would help his case in any way.

“What do you want to tell me so badly that needs for both of us to be alone anyway?” He asked on a regal tone, a hint of curiosity present on his expression as he spoke, his attention strictly focused on the blond, though the later didn’t give him an answer straight away, nor he did seconds after the question had been thrown into the air, or even moments later. Will just kept staring at his self as if he wanted to see Nico’s inners and soul, discover all of his greatest secrets, figure him out like one do with a mystery. “What?” The black haired spit at the other, who simply blinked a couple of times to then proceed to shrug.

“I just find you interesting.” The blue eyed said softly, his delicate smile back with full force on his face as the flowers on his crown continued to grow…until they stopped when Will sent him a glare Nico didn’t think the peaceful looking blond was capable of doing. “And stop trying to kill my plants.”

            ***                                                                                                                  ***

Their interactions, either long or brief, continued for weeks, each one of them similar to the others, almost as if someone had copied the exact format every single time. Each morning, Will came to check on him, although part of him suspected his early visits were mostly focused on taking care of the enormous battalion of flowers that adorned the place, watering the vines around Nico, which had produced some marvelous black and purple sprouts that were currently making the black haired company.

It wasn’t as bad as one would think, maybe it was because of all the things he had seen on his lifetime that his line of thinking went that way, he couldn’t really tell if that was the case. Yes, he might be technically caged, but, after some time, he figured he could use the situation as a small vacation out of the Underworld, even he would have to admit that the environment down there was depressing most of the time, nothing alive nor breathing, nothing to remind him of the colorful land above him that had been stripped away from him. Besides, the company wasn’t half bad there either.

The blue eyed was actually a pretty decent being, pretty stubborn and he annoyed him sometimes but that didn’t mean that the gracious blond was terrible to be around, there was something about that almost literal ray of sunshine that he found endearing. Maybe it was the way he always hummed under his breath while taking care of his garden, or how the grass the black haired had wilted on accident, most of the cases having truly not been on purpose, seemed to come back to life whenever Will’s delicate fingertips brushed the aura around them.

Their routine had been going on for such a long period of time on his mind that he was undoubtedly surprised, practically dumbfounded, when the vines grabbing his arms became undone, slowly retreating to one of the trees near the area.

“What is happening?” He asked the blond, who made his way towards him while giving small waves, careful hand gestures, to the retreating plants and roots that were previously holding the brown eyed captive.

“I thought you would appreciate a different kind of environment.” Will answered with a little smile on his face, although it seemed out of place, it was not as bright as the ones Nico had seen before, that certain one, even though it was still beautiful, it lacked of the joy and happiness he had seen the blue eyed display before, it did not reflect a care free spirit but rather someone scared of something that couldn’t exactly be recognizable at first sight.

The black haired considered asking the other about it, considered taking a step forward and grab both of his hands on his to give the blond some sort of comfort, considered brushing his fingers against his cheek to try to give the other some warmth even though he knew for a fact that his skin was cold as ice, considered placing the rebel golden lock of hair that was covering one of his blue irises behind his ear to get a clearer view of that heavenly sky. He didn’t though.

“How can you be so sure that I won’t escape?” Nico asked instead, stretching his sore arms while he expected the owner of the blue eyes to give him an answer that could satisfy his need for information.

Will bitted his bottom lip, his glance shifting around to look anywhere but him before focusing on the black haired once more. “I am not.” He said, his voice lacking of all security, his tone making it clear that his mind was full with doubts he couldn’t find a proper response for. The black haired was about to say something, hoping to interrupt the not so sunny path he sensed the other´s mind was walking through, when the eyes of his companion widened considerably, something in them that Nico couldn’t quite name, no matter how hard he tried to come up with an acceptable possibility. The blond looked behind him quickly, at some trees on the distance that were morphed into an arc of some sort, to then stare at him, his glance betraying him from time to time. “I’ll be right back; I need to get something.”

And with those words, he was out of his sight, not a single trail of his presence to be seen expect the almost unnoticeable pathway of half dead flowers, sprouts that had been frozen in time at the middle of the way.

The black haired was uncertain of what to do. Should he just go away? The garden couldn’t be so huge, as soon as he was out there would be shadows he could use to get away. Walk out like that, it was pretty simple. Part of him couldn’t help but feel bad about the other, the blue eyed was trusting him to wait for him, to stay on his place until he came back with whatever he had forgotten; if he wasn’t there when the blond return… Nico wasn’t sure if he really wanted to imagine the details of that specific outcome.

Before the owner of the brown irises could make up his mind, his legs made a decision themselves, slowly walking away from the same scenery he had watched for days now, the same landscape he really couldn’t say he had gotten tired of hearing, the same scenes that, for some strange reason, he hadn’t truly got tired of seeing in repeat, founding them refreshing in some way every single time his eyes were to be witnesses of such lively scenes.

He wasn’t sure how much time had actually flew by but he could see a golden gate not so far away from him, rays of light as sunshine beams slowly crawling over his direction, daring him to go closer. The black haired wasn’t the type to not live up to a challenge. Nico slowed down his pace slightly, savoring every sweet second of the way, the not large amount of miles left to freedom, feeling he would have been able to enjoy more if it wasn’t for the wave of coldness he felt out of nowhere.

The brown eyed turned around, almost unnaturally quickly, with the intention to see what exactly had caused the sensation of desperation and numbness to gain territory in the physical world. It took less than a couple of seconds for him to find the source, one that he hadn’t been originally expecting: there, a couple of steps away from him, stood the blond he had watched lately, although his appearance was almost completely unrecognizable. The blue irises of the other, the ones he had grown to love and admire from the afar, didn’t have the glow he had found endearing in the first place, having a glassy, glim shade of light that he would compare with the faint fire left in an ember; his clothes, now a darker shade of spring colors, reminding him now more of autumn, the season when life began to wilt slowly until it was long gone before one could even blink twice; his hair, messier than he had ever seen it, tangled as if the other had passed his hands multiple times through it, as if his fingers had twisted the delicate locks in a way that it almost looked as if someone other than himself had tried to pull from them; the crown he once wore proudly on top of his head, the bunch of leaves and flowers than once were on display now laid down almost dead, the life leaving them slowly in an agonizing way.

“You… You can go if you want, I was being selfish and I…” He heard the other said quietly, although the sentence came out as a whisper, trailing off to become nothing before the rest of the message could reach his ears, the blue eyed looking anywhere but his direction, trying to avoid his glance as best as possible.

Nico bitted the inside of his cheek, a pang of guilt settling down on his stomach at the sight. He really hadn’t meant for the other to…react that way. Sure, he was certain than the other would have felt disappointed, either on him or himself, but he would have found the mere thought of a situation like the current one happening as simply ridiculous, no one had really shown such emotion when referring to him. _There’s a first time for everything_ , a small voice echoed through the walls of his mind, the tone almost mocking him in a snarky way, making him feel even worse knowing that his actions where the ones that had caused such a beautiful thing to go to waste, to be lost, unable to be seen by any other eyes.

His glance rested on the object the blond was carrying, one that he hadn’t really taken notice of until now. It was covered by a delicate greenish vail coming from the other’s clothing, leaving the features of the thing out of prying eyes, covering them in a way that prevented unworthy beings to lay a glimpse of it.

“Oh, this?” Will asked, an eyebrow slightly raised as he caught the other staring at his fingers, which were almost white due to the tight grip he had on the circular surface he quickly uncovered for the other to see, hesitation never letting go of his movements. “This is…nothing, it’s the result of a really stupid idea.” The blond opened his mouth just to close it again a couple of times, as if he were debating to find something to say, the proper thing to pronounce in a way that it would unsure no negative reactions. “Come on, you are allowed to laugh at my stupidity.”

The black haired stared at the object, narrowing his eyes to have a more clear view of the small details of the item. Once he got to see it more carefully, he felt air getting stuck on his throat at the beauty of said thing he was glad he got to see. It was not just a simple circle as it could have been described at first sight, but rather a gorgeous crown flower completely made of a bright metal surface, leaves and petals delicately crafted onto the object in a way that it almost seemed alive, almost looked as if it each and every single one of the small details held life inside them all.

“Was that for me?” Nico asked softly, in a careful manner, almost scared that one bad placed step would scare the blue eyed away, that the later would disappear out of thin air, go as fast as he had arrived.

The blond bitted his bottom lip nervously, his glance fixing his point of attention to the now grayish grass laying underneath him. “Well, the times we talked…you said you’ve always wanted to be able to touch nature by yourself without it dying …” He quickly looked up at Nico, trying to see if he really should go on or if it was better to just leave it like that, not really wanting to humiliate himself any further, not that he could really think of any ways for that to happen at the time, in all honesty. The blue eyed took a deep breath before continuing, forcing himself to keep his stare on the other’s face, if he was about to say it all, he might as well look at the other’s reaction as he did so. “So I asked for this to be made, it’s…made of silver so it would never wilt.” He let out a quiet, short, humorless laugh, wincing slightly as how pathetic it all sounded out loud, doing his best to repress the sniffles that were fighting to be heard by the outside world. “Stupid thinking, I know, you can laugh now.”

Nico blinked a couple of times, truly dumbfounded, his brain not coming up with anything decent to say, he was a lack of words. Hesitantly, the brown eyed took a couple of steps closer to the crestfallen blond, letting out a sigh of relief as he other didn’t give any signs of running away from him. The black haired continued to get closer, and closer, and closer, until he was in front of  the other being, who seemed to just be frozen in place, unable to do anything but stare at the movements of the one in front of him.

Carefully, as one would treat a newborn flower, he placed his hands over the blond’s, slowly rubbing his thumbs over his whitish knuckles, trying his best to ignore the sparks he felt whenever his skin made contact with his, the jolts of electricity that seemed to travel through his fingers to them start their journey to the other’s, only for the entire process to start over and over again, non-stop. The black haired then grabbed the silver crown, letting his fingertips trace the small details it was covered with before placing it slowly on top of his head, with extreme care, not wanting it to receive even the smaller scratch.

The brown eyed had never been the best when managing words, he never really knew what to say or when to say it, expressing his feelings and ideas through coherent sentences had become more of an impossible task especially considering he really didn’t have a lot of beings to interact with on a daily basis. But being there, under the brilliant sun, the owner of the blue irises watching him expectantly, a faint, but pretty obvious, glim of hope present on said those, he felt as if there was a moment for a miracle to happen, it really should be now.

“I… Thank you… Will.” Nico spoke softly, a wave of warmth washing through his face, that suddenly acquired more color than it had actually had in a while, a little side smile appearing on his pale features.

The blond seemed to brighten up at that, the small freckles on his expression lightning up, shining like the stars had been placed on his sun kissed cheeks, a delicate, almost shy, grin finding its way to his face.

“You’re welcome, Neeks.” The blue eyed said, a bright blush spreading through his skin as a young rose sprout started to bloom near his ear.

            ***                                                                                                                  ***

They continued to spend time together, although the pass of time was something neither of them truly felt, when you were immortal, time becomes meaningless, existence itself usually does to. Nico had felt that way, as if existing didn’t really serve that much of a purpose, that the monotonous life was not something he was really cut for…but then it stopped being monotonous, it stopped all being white and black, the shades of gray stopped being the only thing he could see for color to make its way onto his life.

Because that was what Will was and had been: a change and a chance. A change for the better, an alternative path for him to take, one that did not lead to the eternal darkness and shadows of the Underworld but that gave him a glimpse of what could a life above be, not one between the others on those meetings but one that truly felt like living.

He was also a chance. A chance to experience all those things that he had been denied in the past, maybe not fully but at least his wish had come true to some extent. The black haired had been able to live through some many things in so little time that, if he would be given the chance to stay there forever, he would have.

That was part of the problem though, sometimes chances are not something that one usually gets, or at least not something that can be obtained without having to pay a certain price that, in most cases, was too high for the subject in question. They are some things one can never escape from, responsibilities being one of them, origins, the way one properly is being another. They both had been so caught up in their own little shared bubble that they had forgotten about the entire world outside, they had ignored the reality until they couldn’t anymore.

Death was, in a way, the other’s domain. Death, so different from life but they the two of them shared part of the same beauty, always surprising people with their mesmerizing presence, either in a good or a bad way. Death, what had been lacking in the land of the living since the brown eyed had suddenly disappeared.

The Underworld was in chaos, but that didn’t mean the world above was any better. The land of the dead refused to accept any more souls until their leader, their crowned king was back safe and sound, leaving the citizens of the world alone to endure terrible punishments as pests and sickness all on their own, not giving them the sweet remedy that death could be, leaving them on their own to face the unimaginable.

Will’s heart broke when he first discovered what was going on outside their secret paradise, Nico could tell that the aura around the other had not been as bright since, he knew that the brightness surrounding them both only made the blond feel guilty about what was happening to the people who cried for help every single day, whose voices echoed on both of his heads with desperation in the worst of moments. The worst thing was that the brown eyed couldn’t really do anything to reassure the other that everything was going to be okay, he truly didn’t know what would happen, he knew better than doing promises that he was certain couldn’t keep at all.

Both deities knew their time together was running out, they couldn’t keep the act that it everything was fine any longer, they had to accept that they came from different worlds that apparently the universe didn’t want together. There was nothing that could be done about it, the end was near, everything good thing had to end, nothing lasted forever, not even when one were to wish it did with all of their hearts and souls.

It was over, they both had to recognize, that was the end and there was nothing that could be done about it, goodbyes were inevitable. Sure, there could always be more options but those were most likely to doom the entire human population, a weight on their consciences that would be very hard to deal with, the blond was already falling under it. Maybe that was partially the reason for why Nico was surprised when that said blue eyed had stepped in front of him the same day he was supposed to leave for good, his eyes lightened up with fierce determination that was projected as well on his voice.

“Give them to me.” The blond said strongly, fire darkening his clear irises as he demanded for the other’s attention, who only raised an eyebrow in evident confusion.

“What?” Nico asked, his arms crossed as he expected for a satisfactory response that would bring his mind out of the hurricane of turmoil it was currently in.

“The seeds, give them to me.” Will spoke once more, his features softening slightly, the strength not truly leaving his words as they were being pronounced though.

The black haired’s eyes widened considerably, now knowing what the other was referring to. Pomegranate seeds, food of the Underworld, the fruit of the dead, if one were  to eat it…they would be doomed to spend eternity in the Underworld, an eternity in a pitch of black and endless darkness void of any life.

“I can’t” He said in a whisper, not having enough energy to look the other in the eye, almost afraid of having to confront the other, that same being that had allowed him to see the marvelous light of living, the other side of the coin he had always been so desperate to see.

“Neeks…” The black haired heard the other plead, one of the blond’s hands reaching out to touch his cheek, gesture he refused by taking a step back, shaking his head angrily.

“I can’t do that to you.” Nico spoke, a little louder this time, finally having found the courage to stare into the blue eyes of his companion though he couldn’t really hold his glance in place for any longer, looking away once he had finished pronouncing his words.

He thought he had scared Will away when he didn’t hear any noise coming from the other’s mouth, he wouldn’t have been surprised if that were to be the case. However, that couldn’t be further from the truth, the blond now having shortened the distance between the two, his forehead touching his as the air brushed their skins as it gently blew by.

“But I’m the one asking.” The blue eyed said softly, loud enough only for the other to hear as if he was sharing a secret that was not meant for the rest of the world to even know it existed. “You are not doing anything bad, you are just doing me a favor.”

“I would have helped to do something that wouldn’t be seen with good eyes.” Nico shut his eyes forcefully, refusing to face the blue eyed any longer, not thinking of himself able to bear the beacon of hope behind his eyes any longer, it was all just wishful thinking and nothing good came from that.

“Nico, look at me.” Will begged as he carefully passed a thumb along the other’s cheek, whipping a thin river of crystal water that had started to make its way to his chin. The black haired did so hesitantly, only to find himself facing the picture of a being with visible pain under a mask of tranquility, one that could not hide the trembling of the other’s bottom limp as he continued to talk. “Is it that you…don’t want me to be with you? That I’m nothing but a meaningless distraction?”

“No, of course not! How can you even think that?” Nico almost shouted in disbelief, was that really what the other thought? Did he really think so lowly of him? Or himself? The blue eyed let his expression be washed away by a wave of authentic peace and relief, cracking a little, but not because of that lesser in brightness, smile.

“Then what is the problem?” He asked genuinely, tilting his head slightly to the side, letting a couple of golden locks fall over his face, preventing the black haired to look at the starry blue eyes of the other.

“People need you here.” The brown eyed said almost in a whisper, trying to convince himself that pushing the other away was for the better, but that said line of thought lacked of conviction, it would not be the best for either of both, maybe for someone else, but nor for the pair.

“They can survive without me, I’m not that important.” Will spoke with a small shrug, not really seemingly sad about what he had said would imply, almost accepting it as a fact everyone else should know as well as him.

“But you are.” Nico insisted as he hesitantly moved his fingers to put some of the blond’s hair behind his ear, his voice not trembling even in the slightest to show the other that he truly believe his own words and was not just speaking for the sake of it.

“Maybe to you.” The blue eyed blushed faintly at the gesture, his smile growing considerably as he heard the other’s words about his presence and importance, feeling his chest warming out at the softness that short sentence possessed. “You have your own place to look after, your schedule is busy…it would be more convenient for the both of us for me to go there.”

The black haired was about to protest, to scream and shout at the fates for letting something as tragic to happen, to beg for the other to stop asking because he might actually give in, to let himself be shallowed by the shadows to stop the millions of thoughts for torturing him. All the options vanished from his mind as he felt a pair of warm hands cupping his face, transmitting a calming sensation that made the other forget about his worries, only being able to stare at the blond, who, he found out, was staring back at him.

“I won’t ever hold it against you.” The blue eyed assured him, his voice smooth as the fingertips that were currently tracing small circles against the sides of his face.

“How can you be so sure?” The black haired only managed to whisper before he focused his attention on the pink pair of limps that were slowly coming closer, ones that, before he was able to tell, softly pressed against his shortly after, not separating until a couple of seconds later, even though those seconds translated into his mind as an eternity.

“Because I love you…and that’s not going to change.” Will said, his mouth, which now had a faint blue lining on its outline like the one you could see in people whose body temperature was below the normal, molded into a sweet smile, that same one that had welcomed him not so long ago at the beginning of it all.

And Nico decided to believe him.

            ***                                                                                                                  ***

There are stories as old as time, whose details get blurred by all the times they had been retold, all the versions that appear every once in a while, all those new perspectives narrators can see the original source from. There are always some things that don’t change though, things that remain the same no matter how long it had been the first time the tale was ever told to someone else.

The same applies to myths, said once and twice just for the process to be repeated over and over again, generation after generation, century after century. That’s how everything in life goes, everything gets a new start, everything begins and ends. It happens to years, it happens to months, it happens to weeks, to days, to season. Everything gets a brand new start, it means a lot of things for everyone, it can be similar it can be different, only time can tell.

Some beginning are better than others, ones can lead to great things and others to not so good ones, all depending on the point of view one were to see it. Some call the cold season a bad thing, for example. Plants wilt and die due to the freezing temperatures, people get sick and the ones who had already a sickness get weaker, the air becomes so similar to ice that it hurts to even breathe…but, for them, snow meant a new beginning.

**Author's Note:**

> [I'm also on tumblr](http://glowing-dimp-as-an-ember.tumblr.com/)


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